The night had grown late, yet Evalina’s eyes remained wide open.The ticking of the wall clock echoed softly through the room, each second stretching time into a slow, deliberate rhythm.On the small table beside her bed, two letters lay side by side—one from “M,” the other a birth report naming Ethan as her twin brother.But her mind couldn’t let go of one more name: Eloise.Two names.Two figures she had never met, never known.Yet now, they haunted her thoughts relentlessly.> “Ethan or Eloise?” she whispered. “Which one is real? Or... are they both shadows from a past that was rewritten?”---The next morning, Evalina stood in the kitchen, staring blankly at an untouched cup of coffee.Hunter entered from the back room, concern etched on his face.“You didn’t sleep?” he asked gently.Evalina shook her head. “I had a dream… about a white corridor. Cold. Silent. And then… there were two children. But every time I tried to see their faces, everything blurred.One said his name was Et
The evening breeze whispered gently as Evalina opened the back window of the old house. The twilight glow slowly poured in, casting long shadows across the wooden floor.Inside her mother’s room, Evalina was tidying an old drawer that hadn’t been opened in years. Her fingers brushed against aged letters, faded diaries, and dusty photo albums. But when she shifted a stack of books, something hard caught her attention at the bottom of the drawer—a brown envelope, tightly sealed.On the back, a single sentence was written in italic handwriting:> “For Evalina. Read this when you’ve become a mother and begin to question everything.”Evalina swallowed hard. Her hands trembled as she broke the seal.---Inside was a single sheet of paper—its handwriting neat but visibly aged. At the bottom, just one initial: M.> “Evalina,I know you grew up with the story that you once had a sibling who died as a baby. That they were buried in silence. But listen carefully... there was never a sibling. It
That night, the sound of crickets echoed faintly beyond the window.Evalina stared at the photo Claire had just handed her—a little girl, around seven years old, standing inside a cold, sterile-looking laboratory. Her eyes didn’t look at the camera, but instead to the left side of the frame. As if she were watching something… or someone.On the back of the photo, a single handwritten line read:> E.R-03: Eloise Renaud. Status: Not Found.“Eloise…” Evalina murmured, gazing at the girl with a strange, tightening feeling in her chest.“She… looks like me. Even her eyes.”Hunter sat beside her, eyes fixed on the image. “Do you think… she’s still alive?”Claire nodded slowly. “There are indications. The last known record shows she escaped from one of the observation facilities at age eight. After that… all data disappeared. It’s like someone buried her existence.”“Elric,” Evalina said suddenly. “Is it possible… I met Eloise without knowing? I mean, if I was ever under hypnosis, some memor
Morning arrived with a gray sky.Mist still lingered between the trees, cloaking the old house like secrets unwilling to be revealed.Evalina sat at the kitchen table, staring at the old metal box she had found beneath the floorboards of the upstairs room the night before. Her fingers trembled above its lid.Hunter stood beside her, silently waiting.“This was my mother’s,” she finally said. “It’s locked. But she hid it so carefully… it means whatever’s inside wasn’t meant for the world to see.”Hunter nodded. “We can open it together. Whatever it is, you don’t have to face it alone.”Evalina took a deep breath, then reached for the small screwdriver Elric had prepared. With one careful movement, she pried open the rusty lock.Click.The lid popped open—and the scent of old paper filled the air.Inside: a stack of letters, several black-and-white photographs, and one large brown envelope with no return address or postage.Evalina carefully pulled it out.On the front, handwritten:> "
Rain fell softly, like whispers from the sky that no human could fully hear.Inside the cramped, makeshift shelter of the warehouse, Evalina soothed Hope, who had just woken up.The baby didn’t cry—her eyes still held that gentle, silver sheen, staring up at her mother with a look that defied understanding.As if she already knew... the world outside was no longer safe.Hunter checked each door, making sure they were locked.Claire stood in front of her laptop screen, zooming in on a digital map linked to her private intel tracker.“Motion sensors picked up two heat signatures approaching from the north. They're not close yet, but they’ve definitely caught our trail,” Claire said—calm, but tense.Elric rose from his chair, nerves taut. “They won’t wait till morning. These people move in silence. And when they strike... it only takes one shot.”Evalina tightened her hold on Hope. “If they get in… I want all of you to escape through the back tunnel.”Hunter turned quickly. “What are you
The car sped through the night.Rain began to fall in a thin mist, blurring the windshield. Elric gripped the steering wheel, his hands trembling, eyes flicking toward every approaching light as if danger lurked behind each one.In the back seat, Evalina held Hope tightly to her chest. But not because of the cold.She was terrified.Hope hadn’t cried—not even when the sound of gunfire shattered the windows of their villa.Her tiny body was too still.Too... silent.And her eyes—normally a bright, vibrant blue—had turned pale silver. Like moonlight reflected in a mirror.Like something… not quite human.---They arrived at an old storage cabin hidden deep in the pinewoods—Elric’s emergency hideout. Dark and quiet, but warm enough. Safe enough.At least for tonight.Evalina crouched in a corner, wrapping Hope’s body in a warm blanket. Hunter, who had followed in a backup car, burst through the door, breathless and pale.“Evalina! Elric! I saw the news—your villa was on fire—”“Quiet!” E